Yummy! Here I am eating a Gummy Bear Apple.

I love chocolate.  I mean, I LOVE chocolate.  Doesn’t everyone?  If you are a bit of a connoisseur, you know that not all chocolates are equal. 

There’s the grocery store aisle chocolate that’s really just strange candy stuff wrapped in silly packages.  It’s exactly like the little mini bars you find at Halloween.  In my view, this stuff will do in a pinch when you are in a crisis of chocolate depravation or something like that.  Then there is the fancier stuff you find in the drug stores.  Not bad but it sometimes gets boring after the 4th piece or so.

Then there are things like imported chocolates, gourmet truffles or other such mouth-watering, handmade pieces of heaven.  Now we’re talking.  This is the level where I lose all sense of reality.  Yes, I have actually dreamt of drowning in a giant copper kettle filled with melted Belgian chocolate.

One of the best places for chocoholic connoisseurs to satisfy their needs is at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory located in the Village at Blue.  This tiny shop was one of the first to locate in the Village back in 2002 and ten years later, it is still one of the most successful chocolate shops in the country!

Rocky Mountain is part of a national franchise with over 50 locations.  You’ve seen them in malls; you know, the places with the crazy huge caramel apples covered in marshmallows or other goodies?  (I do believe the nutritional value of the apple cancels out any caloric issues you may have so don’t worry.  They are surely almost calorie free, right?)

In 2005, the local operation was purchased by Claus Fleischmann who had relocated his family to this area looking for the active and healthy lifestyle found in our community.  I recently asked him why his chocolate is so darn good and he said, “ 80% of the products we sell are made fresh daily right on site.  They are unique and over-the-top creations you can’t find anywhere else and we use only the highest quality ingredients without cutting any corners.”  He’s right.  Clusters, bombs, truffles, chocolate covered blueberries, sponge toffee, fudge, candy apples …. just try to resist.  It can’t be done.

If you are looking for a special Valentines gift for that special someone or perhaps a unique house warming or hostess gift or, simply a treat for yourself, it’s well worth a visit to the store.  The shop is located in the centre of the Village beside the Firehall Pizza Company and is open Sunday to Thursday from 10 am to 7 pm; until 9 pm on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Locals here know Ashanti Café and so, we know our coffee too.  Ashanti  owners, David and Amy Wilding, grow their own single-origin beans on their own farm in Zimbabwe where the unroasted coffee beans are hand selected and shipped via Africa, Halifax and Toronto to their final destination in Thornbury where they are then roasted.  They are sold through select retailers and through the Ashanti Cafes in Thornbury and now, in Collingwood too!

The story is quite dramatic involving fleeing the country, gun-toting squatters, disastrous government interference and finally, a commitment to overcome.  Toronto Life ran a good article about this a couple of years ago and you can read it in full here. 

Ashanti Café offers more than just coffee.  Delectable, locally baked goodies, breakfasts, lunches and teas too are all available and can be enjoyed inside or take out.  The Thornbury Café is located at 39 Bruce Street South and is open Monday through Sunday from 7:30 am to 5 pm while the new Collingwood location at 510 First Street is open Monday to Friday from 7:30 am to 7:00 pm and week-ends from 8 am to 6 pm.

• Check out the Ice Sculpture Festival from December 27 – 31 in Downtown Collingwood  PS.  There is free parking Downtown now until January 1st, 2012

• Go Bowling in Collingwood or Meaford

• Rewind and rejuvenate at the Scandinave Spa

• Try out the new Ridge Runner Mountain Coaster at Blue

• Go to an arcade in Creemore

• Go skating of course!

• Head on Over to Rounds Ranch Pardner!

• Play Paintball or Laser Tag in Wasaga Beach

If by some miracle the snow should decide to fall, here are a few more ideas:

• How about a snowshoe tour?  

• Cross-country, snowshoe or hike along the trails and across the suspension bridge at  Scenic Caves 

• Rent a snowmobile for an hour or a day

• Take the family Dog Sledding in Rob Roy!

Do you have some favourite ideas to share?  Please add your comments and let everyone else know too.

The building is also now home to The Market which offers an excellent selection of goods grown or produced within 100 miles of Meaford.  The market was previously located in downtown Meaford but with its new location and owners, the business has the opportunity to expand which is very good news indeed.

On a recent visit, I was able to buy some delicious raw honey produced by a local apiary. I got the most wonderful Kamut pitas by baker, Vitold Kreutzer, some organic veggies, red lentil pasta and a hand-made hummingbird feeder made by a retired farmer who happened to walk into the store while I was there.

The market carries fresh bread and eggs, as well as fresh fish, beef, pork, chicken.elk and bison meat as well as prepared meals.  They carry local jams, honey, maple syrup, pickles, chutneys, salsa, pasta sauce, pasta. Dairy products include goat and sheep cheese, goat milk, goat and sheep yogurt, and organic milk, ice cream, butter, cottage cheese and yogurt. You’ll also find a wide variety of flours, beans, rice, quinoa, cereals, baking supplies, tea, locally roasted Ashanti coffee, sauces and many other common pantry and grocery items.

The Market is open Wednesday to Sunday. Maybe we’ll see you there.

The article is specifically referring to condos that are part of the Village at Blue where prices have fallen from 10-40% from their original values.  They are NOT referring to other projects in the area which have seen a steady rise in prices over the same decade.

Value is based on one thing and one thing only:  supply and demand.  In my own experience at a REALTOR® of principally resale real estate, potential buyers have a reluctance to buy at Blue out of fear regarding the associated costs of owning a unit.  Village Association dues, rental restrictions, mandatory refurbishment programs and other factors all spell risk compared to “conventional” residential condominium ownership.  Is it valid?

The costs of ownership are indeed significantly higher in the Village however, the rental revenue is also higher than in other developments.  In the end, unit owners of any condo will generally at best, find that rental income will offset some or all of the operating costs, depending on personal usage but will not cover the cost of mortgage financing.  When people buy in the Village, they need to understand that they are buying into a commercial operation, not a residential one.  They are also buying into a very specific niche market and lifestyle that appeals to some people and not to others.

Back to the article.  In my own opinion, prices may not yet have bottomed out at Blue given the large inventory of units still available.  But sitting on the sidelines may also mean missed opportunities if the perfect unit comes along or if you are anxious to begin a new chapter in life.

This quaint market is located on Highway 26 just east of Meaford.  It has been in business for over fifty years and offers some of the best home baking you can find.  For the pies, all the ingredients; apples, berries and rhubarb, are grown on their farm or on neighbouring farms.  In general, they say that almost everything they sell is locally grown, produced, baked or crafted.

Grandma Lambes carries fresh vegetables, jams, eggs, cider, maple syrup and a good selection of diabetic pies too.  They have lots of crafts and giftware as well.

Today, the service operates on 2 continuous over lapping loops with a bus transfer system and each direction operates on a 30 minute cycle. This service begins at 7am and runs until 7pm, 7 days a week. A transfer system is available allowing passengers to transfer between routes without paying an additional fare if they do so within a 45 minute time period.

This year, the councils of the Town of Wasaga Beach and the Town of Collingwood approved a link connection between their respective services dependent upon County Funding. The good news is that in late June, the County approved the funds and the home is that the prgram can be in place by August.

Click here for more detailed information on Wasaga Transit routes, fares and schedules.

Eating healthier foods is less of a challenge in the summer months when the Farmer’s Markets are open every week-end through-out the Georgian Triangle area.  There are also shops such as the 100 mile markets in Creemore and Meaford where good selections exist year-round.  But where can you find enough of a range of organic produce to fill a family’s hunger in the off season?

On March 16th, a young farmer by the name of Chris Blakely started a 10 week, organics basket program which is available every Wednesday from 11 am to 3 pm at Wheat and Honey located at 58 Hurontario Street in downtown Collingwood.  Through the winter, Chris sources his produce from Pfenning’s Organics and in the spring he will begin farming on 12 acres near Owen Sound; land that has been certified organic since the 80s!

I signed up for a $25.00 a week basket and the great thing is, I can select what I want from a wide range of organic produce such as blood oranges, avocados, rainbow carrots, lettuce, kale, broccoli, sprouts, beets, sweet potatoes and much, much more.  Each week, we happily munch through these gorgeous fruits and veggies as we wait for the Farmer’s Market to open. 

Check it out and if you want further information, email Chris at chrisblakely@hotmail.com

Recently, I was looking for a special idea to help celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday.  I called upon another friend, Julie Card at mycollingwood who is akin to being the area concierge because she knows EVERYTHING that’s going on around town.  Julie suggested we look into the Collingwood Cooking Academy which is exactly what we did.

Five of us arrived at about 6:00 p.m.  The school is in the home of Chef Philip Tarlo and his partner Leanne Calvert who also operate the Willow Trace Bed and Breakfast from the same location on Poplar Side Road in the south end of Collingwood.  A pretty driveway led us into the beautiful grounds that include 15 acres complete with forests, ponds and even quacking ducks to greet us.
 
We were warmly greeted into their home where we started the evening with a glass of wine decanted from a bottle we had brought along.  Shortly thereafter, we were escorted into the cooking school where Chef Tarlo spent the next couple of hours teaching us to prepare incredible meals.  Now I will tell you that the best thing I make for dinner is reservations.  My husband is an accomplished cook and our birthday girl is herself an Executive Chef.  Our two guests, Anke and Richard Lex of the Tremont fame, were the perfect couple to round out our evening.

First, we learned to make our own pasta dough which we soon fashioned into lobster ravioli that was lightly pan fried and glazed before being topped with fresh, shaved parmesan.  We then were instructed in the preparation of three different main courses which included Spring Trout wrapped in Cucumber with a Tomato Coulis, Chicken Saltimbocca and Beef Tenderloin Dianne.  After the lesson, we began the process of preparing our own selections and when partially completed, we retired to the gorgeous dining room to enjoy our appetizer first.  When we returned to the kitchen, we completed the final preparation of our entrees which were accompanied by fingerling potatoes, maple glazed carrots and the beans that Chef Tarlo had prepared on our behalf.  Let me tell you, our meals were incredibly delicious and I could barely believe I had actually prepared my own.

For our final course, we returned to the kitchen where we learned to make Peach Sabayon.  Oh my goodness – I’m not sure there are words to describe this heavenly dessert.  Between the great meals, the stimulating conversation, the pleasure of the experience and the wonderful attention of our hosts, we all agreed this was an evening we would not soon forget.

Chef Tarlo offers regular classes as well as special evening date nights and all the details can be found on their website. Did I mention we got to take home our aprons as reminders of this great evening?